Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 21 Entries. Sunday, January 1 View Page Hello growing diary 2023! It feels like it�s been an age but good to be back. In reality I didn�t stop - but a house move and trying to set up a new plot from scratch, it�s been a case of burning the candle at both ends trying to get into a position of being able to grow �something�. So where we at? � Monday, January 2 View Page Well, the house is an old one - a pub from 17th century that only stoped being a pub in the 1970s. The stories I bet it could tell. But some land to boot, ready to be converted to a growing area. Unfortunately anywhere you stand, the land is shaded by this tree - which has a whopping crack in it. � Saturday, July 1 View Page It�s been a struggle to get to this point now in July; but we�re here. Tree cutting required planning which took months. Irrigation lines laid in from the house so the plot has water, two smaller greenhouses up and a 50 ft polytunnel. Playing catch up, I had transplants ready before the structures - so they went into the ground months before and then structures were built around them. Instead of agonising over if my plants have x, y and other pampering - time is being spend trying to get basics done. Water. Roof. Soil tests (but not amended yet) � Monday, July 10 View Page I�ve a tunnel! With plastic and everything! Pic a few days old now. Doors are on. Soil has has seaweed meal and rock dust. (Asomite equiv). Amends based on soil test yet to be done. Have at last found a potential supplier of manure. Visiting tomorrow but will grow out some broad beans to check for contamination before I apply x tons to the surface. � Saturday, July 22 View Page Soil here is a sandy loam, rather than the heavy clay I�m used to growing on. Lots of different plants are showing various signs of similar mineral deficiency here; magnesium and manganese, confirmed via tissues tests. Foliar treatment for both applied, but the green hasn�t returned to the leaves. Is that normal? Hope I�d see colour return and know that it�s working. � Saturday, July 22 View Page Some types of plants worse impacted than others � Saturday, July 22 View Page It is what it is for this year. Good soil takes time. We have to start from somewhere. This year - it�s a super restricted grow as I�m spending so much time doing infrastructure stuff. Undercover spaces, water butts, irrigation pipers, rain water collection. So I�m growing mostly, er. Giant Aubergines. Eggplants. To ring the changes. I�m no expect, but giving it a go. Some early blooms set: � Saturday, July 22 View Page And here too. A few others set, others yet to be set. There are some good blooms, but with soil at such an early stage of being amended, I�m a bit doubtful they reach their full potential this season. I�ve opted to grow multi stemmed - it�s meant good bloom selection possibilities, but sets need to be made now and fruit is too low to the ground so I�d move that fwd next year. Hope to get some giant tomatoes in next season, as I can take more plants on once infrastructure up - and I�ve some cracking tomato seeds to try out. None of the 9.44 Sutherland Domingo line or today�s 17.09 Sutherland, but if your reading Dan I�d be keen! :) Hope everyone�s season has been going well, apologies for radio silence as I tried to wrestle a new plot into some kind of order, but good to be back. Grow �em big. � Friday, August 25 View Page Oh no; calamity for one of my giant aubergines that was a contender for Malvern. Slipped it�s sling, and separated from the top with 3 plus weeks of growing left in it. A new pb for me 2.7kg. � Friday, August 25 View Page Bottom view � Saturday, August 26 View Page Well, here�s a bit of random cool�A 3D scan using an iPhone of my aubergine from the other day and a trial of an app called Polycam. It was just such an awesomely funky shape. https://poly.cam/capture/C9D7EAEE-0D1C-4E2E-A002-BDD9B403437E � Tuesday, September 5 View Page 2.435 dmg for the next giant aubergine; has had a skin split for a long time and I thought it might hold, but recently started showing soft rot on the split (imagine current high heat has not helped!) � Tuesday, September 5 View Page Soft rot set in on the crack eventually � Monday, September 11 View Page Well; there goes another! Noticed a soft spot this am. 3.193kg dmg giant aubergine - 11 days before the UK Malvern show (National Championship show). Arg. � Monday, September 11 View Page A few items for scale - it was a big beast! One of those things. I would have picked it before now if not for the show. � Monday, September 11 View Page Evening post picking tipple. 169 grams off current WR (but obviously dmg) � Tuesday, September 19 View Page Well, earlier in the week, I was out. A new pb giant aubergine - dmg at 3.71kg - and above the current WR weight of 3.362kg. I would have picked a few weeks ago, but tried to hold it for the U.K. national veg championships at Malvern this weekend. It developed a soft spot size of a ten pence piece. Nothing but admiration for those that successfully time for show dates. Next time - set later! All the very best for those competing (that was my last one) - good luck! � Tuesday, September 19 View Page Beer can for scale. � Tuesday, September 19 View Page Good size � Tuesday, September 19 View Page And soft spot in question. Things i learnt about giant aubergines this season:. 1. Cracks aren�t fatal but you are on borrowed time. 2. They blow up. Pretty sure I went from 15 plants to dmg on all (but trying to hold for a given date) with wilt, splits and soft rot 3. Competitive lines are yet to be established. This came out of a generic seed packet from France (monster of New York) 4. Megablooms are rare, but not unheard of. 5. Seed production is poor. There were just 8 viable seeds out of the 3.7kg fruit. More from others but less than tomatoes. 6. A lot of plants just got Verticillium Wilt. Grafting might help. 7. Splits aren�t just from watering. Soil nutrients, temperature extremes as well as watering can all do it. Any questions just shout. Although I�m not talking to aubergines right now� � Tuesday, September 19 View Page And soft spot in question. Things i learnt about giant aubergines this season:. 1. Cracks aren�t fatal but you are on borrowed time. 2. They blow up. Pretty sure I went from 15 plants to dmg on all (but trying to hold for a given date) with wilt, splits and soft rot 3. Competitive lines are yet to be established. This came out of a generic seed packet from France (monster of New York) 4. Megablooms are rare, but not unheard of. 5. Seed production is poor. There were just 8 viable seeds out of the 3.7kg fruit. More from others but less than tomatoes. 6. A lot of plants just got Verticillium Wilt. Grafting might help. 7. Splits aren�t just from watering. Soil nutrients, temperature extremes as well as watering can all do it. Any questions just shout. Although I�m not talking to aubergines right now� �